WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 News

Since the new game will be released soon, I though now would be a good time for all of you fans to deliver news on the game... I would do all of it but posting twice in a row is considered as Spam... So I have decided to let you all help me in doing this news.

Please do NOT treat this as a discussion thread (unless a Super Mod comes along and says it can) I want this thread to be full up with the news of the next game!

Thank you all... I shall start! By intrducing the confirmed Legends!

(Thanks to IGN for this...)

The veil of secrecy is over. After months of waiting, THQ has finally confirmed all 13 of the wrestlers that will be included in the upcoming WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 due out November 14.

Though we had already revealed three of those legends late last week as part of the first teaser trailer, (Stone Cold, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan), the remaining 10 were still a mystery that IGN readers couldn't stop guessing about. Of course, there have been a million speculation stories circulating all over the Internet as to who some of those guys would actually be in the time since we ran our original story (some true, some not), but now the time has come to finally reveal the facts. The rumor that three versions of Hulk Hogan would be in the game, for instance, is entirely true -- though they aren't outfit variations of one character, but three completely separate characters with their own move sets, abilities, and intros. The rumors that Cowboy Bob Orton and Owen Hart are in the game (made popular by just about every wrestling game fansite on the planet), however, are not. Neither of those two guys made it into the roster this year. On the plus side, Masked Kane is in the game, but not as a legend... his mask is a costume variation like it should be. Anyhow, listed below is final and accurate list of playable legends that you can expect to see in the retail version, which include several new guys that haven't been on the roster before (British Bulldog and Junkyard Dog, most notably):

Legends:
Andre the Giant
Hulk Hogan
The Rock
Bret Hart
Jake Roberts
Steve Austin
British Bulldog
Jimmy Hart
Ted DiBiase
Hogan 80's
Junkyard Dog
Hollywood Hogan
Mankind

To add even more excitement for old-school fans, THQ also revealed three more tidbits of legends-related info to the announcement above. The tenth mystery belt that was confirmed to be in the game but never named, for example, has been confirmed as Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Belt" -- and it can be won and defended just like all the others. Moreover, the secret 20th arena that has had people guessing for months was revealed to be none other than that of WrestleMania IX -- the outdoor venue at Caesar's Palace where Yokozuna beat Bret Hart for the championship before immediately losing the belt to Hulk Hogan minutes afterward.

Finally, the last bit of info revolves around the "Legends" cage we spoke about in earlier previews. As it turns out, it works exactly like the regular cage match but uses the classic "Blue Bar" look associated with WWE matches of the past (re: the Main Event of WrestleMania 2).

YES the British Bulldog is finally considered a Legend

finally someone posted (even though it wasn't news and i said that wasn't allowed in this thread)

A Month In The Life Of Randy Orton (Deatils on season Mode)

After hearing it from players and critics alike last year, THQ wanted to ensure that WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 had the best season mode ever available to wrestling fans. The 2004 version of that feature, after all, suffered from a myriad of different problems (including poorly-recorded voice acting and rather generic storylines) and just about every other sports game on the market eclipsed it in terms of options, unlockables, and things to do. But based on what I've seen of SmackDown vs. RAW 2006, so far, the game's apparently permanent status as a season mode underperformer isn't looking quite so permanent anymore.

You see, in the newest iteration of WWE SmackDown vs. RAW, THQ has gone back to the drawing board and revamped two main areas of the Season feature to make it more like real WWE programming. As basic an improvements these two fixes may sound (Presentation and Gameplay flow, more specifically), I can tell you first hand that it makes an enormous difference in how the season plays out already... and I'm only one month into it.

To start, there are more than 100 different completely motion-captured cinematic cutscenes ranging from two to six minutes in length. Likewise, there are double the amount of cutscenes compared to 2004 and players no longer need to press the X button to move on to the next scene (now, the storytelling happens in real time). The voice-acting used to convey these stories is much, much better when compared to last year too, and the wrestlers finally sound like they're speaking with emotion and conviction and boast realistic lip synching at every turn.

And speaking of, well... speaking, created superstars now have voices too. In fact, there's no longer onscreen text used during the season mode unless players turn on the optional feature in the menu screen. Instead, gamers can now select from among five different voice types to represent their characters between matches, or select from any existing superstar on the roster and listen to them instead.

Of course, the big news is that some of (but not all) the legends also have voice-overs included with their personas and can be used during a regular season just like the normal guys (the basic rule of thumb is that if he has a voice, he can be used during a season). What's more, there is also legend-specific storylines into addition to superstar-particular plots to go along with them. This means that if you choose the Undertaker or Triple H, you're going to run into situations that you wouldn't otherwise see with anyone else. Every WWE superstar will act and behave in a manner that mirrors their real life personality too, and regardless of whom you choose every last character in the season mode will speak.

On the downside, the two-player simultaneous season from SmackDown 2 on the first PlayStation still hasn't been brought back for SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 -- and while women can defend their titles in exhibition matches, they can't be used for season mode either. The good news is that the storylines themselves are pretty interesting, and can boast as many as 10 scenes in a single arc before players move on to the next feud. It's also worth noting that seasons are now two years long instead of one (one each for SmackDown and RAW), and there's even an ECW storyline thrown in for good measure.

When combining both seasons together, players can expect more than 70 different wrestling matches and around 15-16 hours of gameplay if they manage to go through the typical path. Surprisingly, THQ tells us that SmackDown vs. RAW isn't going to allow players to switch shows mid-season this year, and that any cross-promotional stuff only happens as a result of the storyline. Needless to say, moving from SmackDown to RAW and vice-versa won't be voluntary, but your ultimate goal is still to capture all the belts from both shows.

To pull off such a feat, players have a whole boatload of challenges and choices at their disposal. While the storyline itself isn't overly branching, users will have the opportunity to select who they want to fight, what kind of matches they want, and who they want to align with in certain situations (via multiple choice). As an added bonus, players can also earn trophies for successfully completing specific tasks (with prizes for being a legend killer, winning the Royal Rumble, doing well in Bar Room Brawls, etc), earn alternate costumes because of those trophies, and unlock a new legend for beating the storyline mode for each show.

There's still a lot about the season mode of SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 that we don't know (like the extent of the character-specific storylines and how many multiple endings there are), but those are revelations probably best left for you. Even so, we've put together a special treat for wrestling fans curious about how the new season works. Linked below is a snippet from the very first storyline in the game when using Randy Orton. It'll give you a good idea of how things go over the course of a feud and show you just how much things have been improved.

i head thers over 100 diffrent paths in care mode

I can't wait for this one!

Does it come out in "05" or "06"?

2005

The Locker Room
In year's past, the SmackDown series has seen its ups and downs in regards to its season interface. First-person arena exploration, menu-driven text links, and variations on both methods have all been used from year-to-year for mixed results. But this season things look to be much better in the character navigation department as THQ has included an all-new 3D locker room feature that allows players to customize their very own home base just the way they want it.

Similar to the "Crib" option found in Visual Concepts' 2K Sports series, the Locker Room can be accessed inside and outside of season mode at any time (unless, of course, you're in the middle of a match) and acts as your hub for all things wrestling. Players who access their locker room during a season, however, get three exclusive options not offered directly from the main menu: Cutscene Costume Assignments, Royal Rumble Number, and Cutscene Subtitles.

The costume assignments don't apply to wrestlers without alternate outfits, of course, but if your guy happens to sport one (aka Triple H, Kane, John Cena, etc), you'll be able to switch between them with no problem. The cutscene subtitle option is pretty self-explanatory so there's no need to explain that one, but the Royal Rumble number is actually pretty cool. You see, the more you win over the course of the season, the higher your Royal Rumble number is when the event comes in January (thus increasing your chances at winning a title shot). If you continue to lose match after match, however, your guy will fall down the ranks and eventually be pick number one. It's a cool little feature to be sure.

Perhaps the most impressive locker room feature in the bunch is the option to modify it until your heart's content. There are more than 200 customizable items in all and the possibility of thousands of different combinations. There are even special themes that players can pick for their room if they're fans of a particular subject (NWO, Kurt Angle, and Hulkamania, to name a few) and nearly 40% of all items are available from the start.

In order to unlock the rest, users will have to earn trophies by completing specific challenges, winning season modes, and by discovering other secrets hidden in the game. Once earned, each trophy will have an assortment of goodies attached to it that include cash, unlockables, and various shop zone purchase options. Most of these will then allow you to customize a number of different portions of your locker room -- Room Lighting, Wall, Floor, Furniture, Locker, Training Machine, Sound System, Trophies Case, Belts Case, and Collection Items can all be altered to reflect your own personal style. So if you want to place a replica of Kane's mask on your desk, you can go ahead and do so. If you'd rather stick a WCW poster up over your television set instead, you can do that too.

Getting these items won't exactly be easy either; the four different challenge options (Amateur, Rising Star, Superstar, and Legend) all bring their own unique goodies to the table. The cool thing is, not all of them play the same. An amateur challenge, for instance, may only require you to perform four finishers in a single match or maybe steal a taunt to earn your rewards. Higher up the food chain, however, things get a little bit tougher. We don't want to give the cooler features away, so the examples are going to remain a secret (for now), but trust us when we say that a lot of them are very tough, very unique, and very cool. There are even certain challenges that you can participate in with a buddy and the option to load certain challenges from scratch to set up scenarios rather than having to stumble on them.

But customization isn't the only thing that players can do in their locker room. After leaving the desk (used for checking challenges, visiting the WWE Shop, changing season mode subtitles, and checking profile stats), players can also head to their locker (change costume assignment), visit their training equipment (to increase attributes via experience points), check out their Wall of Fame (for viewing earned belts, title histories, and trophies), or move on over to a television set where they can select which load screens that want to see between matches. Users can even save up to six different profiles per memory card so that they can have, in effect, six different locker rooms.

As you can see, this feature has a lot of potential and it's definitely one of our favorite aspects of the game so far.

Creation Mode

No matter how many superstars THQ may cram into WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006, there's always going to be somebody out there who was left out. Sadly, that's the curse of having roster deadlines when developing a videogame, and when you consider how tumultuous the WWE roster changes are from year to year anyway, it's really no surprise that certain guys miss the final cut. This year is no exception, either -- as despite the fact that last year's missing personalities Eugene, La Resistance, and others have finally been included for this season, the more recent pushes such as MNM, Matt Hardy, and Viscera are still nowhere to be found.

So the next question is, "Why not just make them instead?"

In SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 that's exactly what you can do. Just as in years past, the game's Create-A-Superstar feature is neck and neck with Tiger Woods 06 as the most extensive character creation tool in the videogame world. Every game out, THQ has managed to improve on this feature in some way or another and this year, the changes are some of the best in recent memory.

For this installment of continued SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 coverage, we'll be taking a closer look at the creation mode and show you what's new, what isn't, and what you can expect in the final version of the game. Keep in mind, that there's a lot more detail that we could have gone into other than this, but in the spirit of keeping things fun and new for you when you buy the game yourself, we've left out some of the specifics. Anyway, time to get on with it!

Create-A-Wrestler
One of the immediate things players should notice the first time they boot up CAW in their copy of SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 is that the interface is all-new this year and most more user-friendly. It's about as straight forward as you can get and consists pretty heavily of easy to read text menus and departmentalized manipulation windows. There are seven tabs to choose from: Profile, Head, Body, Outfit, Layer, Other, and Finalize.

Profile
# Name -- Select from two pages of alphabets and one page of symbols (18 slots).
# HUD Name -- Select from two pages of alphabets and one page of symbols (18 slots).
# Nickname -- Select from two pages of alphabets and one page of symbols (18 slots).
# Nickname Placement -- None, Prefix, Suffix
# Announcer Introduction -- 21 pages of name choices (181 names in all) which include familiar monikers like Alex, Brett, and Rachel as well as nicknames such as "The Saint, The Machine," and "The Immovable Object." The good news is, the announcer will say these as you walk to the ring.
# Hometown -- Eight pages of hometown locations (64 spots) with various sub-locations for each (for a grand total of 185 possible hometowns). For the first time ever, the ring announcer will say whichever hometown you choose.
# Gender -- Male or Female, "Unknown" is no longer a choice.
# Weight Class -- There are five different weight classes: Diva (100-149lbs), Cruiserweight (150-199lbs), Light Heavyweight (200-239lbs), Heavyweight (240lbs-279lbs), and Super Heavyweight (280-400lbs), and there is now a slider to select an exact weight instead of just a class.
# Match Tactic -- Fight Clean or Fight Dirty determines how the crowd reacts to you and what kind of super move you have. Of course, this is just a default setting; you can always switch it before an exhibition match like you always could.
# Show -- SmackDown! or RAW are the selections and it determines which show you start on during career mode.
# Voice -- (5) different voice types for male created wrestlers, but none for females since user-created women can't be used during season mode.

Head
# Basic Faces -- (7) basic face types to serve as a template. An Eddie Guerrero look-alike is one of them.
# Morphing -- Head, Eyebrows, Nose, Cheek, Mouth, Jaw, Ear, Age, can all be adjusted. Attributes that can be manipulated include position, angle, depth, size, thickness, and height.
# Morphing-Continued -- Allows you to further develop your CAW. Hair (91), Eyes (26), Eyebrows (48), Facial Hair (11 Mustaches, 13 Goatees, 17 sideburns, 25 others), Lips (35), Face Skin (8), Eye Lids (22), and Teeth (3) can be give specific template types.

Body
# Body Type -- Can be adjusted via slider from ripped to thick and also comes with advanced options that allows for individual manipulation of head, neck, chest, shoulders, abdomen, waist, arms, hands, legs, and feet.
# Body Skin -- Boasts (9) different types of skins for the character model which are similar, if not identical to those of previous years.
# Body Hair -- (32) kinds of body hair allows your CAW to become one of the furriest guys in history.
# Body Height -- Your typical slider allows a height adjustment of 5'2" to 7'2".

Outfit
# Head -- A pretty extensive list of head goodies includes (28) hats and (22) masks with (45) patterns each, as well as (159) face paints, (135) make-up selections, (40) pairs of glasses, (46) kinds of horns, (33) piercings, and (35) other kinds of attachments. Even crazier, is the fact that there are (525) tattoos and logos and the ability to create custom words via letters in five different languages (Alphabet, Numerical, Chinese, Japanese, and signs).
# Torso -- This area has more choices than last year as players can select from both Men's (101) and Women's (43) clothing with (45) patterns each. Additionally, there are (17) different costumes, (32) jackets, (8) coats, (58) kinds of body paint, (38) various accessories, and the same (525) tattoos and logos available for the head.
# Arms -- The arms section boasts (16) elbow pads for both arms with (45) patterns each and the ability to wear only one or different types on each arm. Likewise, users can select from (20) different wristbands, (18) pairs of gloves, (50) arm accessories, (149) kinds of arm paint, and (525) tattoos and logos.
# Legs -- If your lower half is chilly, you can select from (25) kinds of underwear to keep you warm, and cover them with (20) types of tights, (62) pairs of pants, (41) kinds of skirts, (29) different belts, (15) kinds of assorted knee pads, (160) leg paints, and (525) tattoos and logos.
# Feet -- Proving that THQ didn't forget anything, players can also select from among (22) different pairs of socks, (48) pairs of shoes, and (18) accessories for keeping their feetsies covered.

One important thing to note this year is that 3D clothing elements have been added this year. Pants, shirts, jackets, and similar bits of clothing will have polygons to create a 3D look instead of the "painted-on" effect of the past. This allows the game to offer some baggy clothes options as well. Overall the addition of polygons to the clothing allowed the team to create much more realistic clothing items and gives players more options/items to create the character they want.

Layer
This feature allows players to edit what layers of their costume appear during their entrance, match, and backstage cutscenes, and also enables users to move, copy, or delete various aspects of their wardrobe. The maximum number of layers that a created wrestler can equip at a time is 32.

Other
The "Other" section allows players to assign their CAW two different fighting styles, which are the same selections from previous years (Brawler, Grappler, Ground, Luchador, Striker, and Balanced). New to this season, however, is the ability to import the existing A.I. of an official WWE Superstar which will leave Fighting Style #1 and #2 blank as a result.

Of course, the advanced options for character A.I. has also been included, as you can adjust your movement (Clever, Aggressive), rate of Irish Whips (Less, Often), Diving Moves (Less, Often), and Taunts (Less, Often).

On the flashier side of things, players can also give themselves two different signs that audience members will hold to cheer them on. There are (200) signs to choose from in all.

Finalize
This is where you save your character and can take a profile snapshot for use on the menu screen. You can also cycle between cutscene, match, and Entrance attires while doing so.

Customize Attribute
Located in a separate menu after you leave the edit screen, the customize attribute screen allows players to use their experience points from career mode to bulk up their CAW in (8) categories: Strength, Submission, Durability, Technique, Speed, Charisma, Hardcore, and Stamina.

Create-A-Championship
If you messed around with last year's game, you should be happy to note that Name Engraving is a new feature this year -- players will also be able to read these engravings during entrances and when viewing the championships in the belt viewer. Also you can always re-engrave a belt once you've won it from an opponent.

What's more, you can use these newly created championship titles in PPV Mode or Title Match mode in Exhibition. Additionally, players also have the choice of putting their titles on the line against other titles or against WWE Cash. This means you can decide to wager WWE Cash you earn throughout the game against an opponent for their belt. You can also have WWE Cash vs. WWE Cash wagers in Title Match mode.

You too can make your own belt.
# Create Title -- There are multiple choices from the outset, as users can create either single or tag team titles from this menu. They can also choose to go back and engrave names on the titles they've accumulated, view the championship's history, or cash the belt in for additional money,
# Title Name -- Pretty self-explanatory, this allows you to enter the name of your title belt (12 characters max).
# Belt -- This option allows players to select (4) different belt materials and (5) different designs to lay out as the foundation for their new title.
# Center Plate -- Whether its platinum, gold, or steel, users can choose (7) different materials and (24) different designs for the center plate of their championship belt.
# Centerpiece -- Perhaps the most important part of a title, the centerpiece carries most of the personality of a title. There are (7) materials to select from and (69) different designs that fit snugly on top of the center plate.
# Side Plate -- For additional bling, (68) different side plate designs can be added to your championship in the usual (7) material flavors.
# Jewels -- If you're truly rich, you can add (15) different jewels to the faceplate of your belt. There is room for (8) of them if you can afford it.
# Name Engraving -- As mentioned earlier, you can engrave your name on the belt. If you're so inclined, select from the (7) different materials and (10) different plate designs before making the most of your (10) alphabet characters.

As you can see, the creation mode for superstars and title belts this year are pretty extensive, and there are plenty of other user-creation modes where that came from (Create-A-Moveset, Create-An-Entrance, Create-A-Stable, etc). Unfortunately, we'll have to save details on those bits for another time.

Ah, well, well, well, if it isn't LPD. Another Legend. I like your site man, it's pretty cool. But, I'm afraid it won't matter, when The Legned Killer ends you. LK is challenging you to take the Legend Killer Challenge in the Forum Games. Come by if you except.

oooooooooo no no no no no

I know where this will end up, flaming like the battle between me and king did, which eventually lead to my banning.

I'm sorry but after the experiance that I've been though I'm done with my days of challenges and other things. So I say no to stay out of trouble!

And if you have a problem with that, I'm sure Aeshma and Sanzano will have somthing to say to you!

No no no, that aint a good idea, we know what can happen with a challenge.

yes... and ith me they don't usually end happily

anyway were getting off topic here

Online Mode

As someone who played the first SmackDown vs. RAW pretty extensively, one of the features I was looking forward to most this year was an improved online mode. As some of you may remember, last year's online feature was thoroughly under-realized with few options worth noting and little to do outside of the typical exhibition match. Luckily, WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006 aims to move beyond the bad memories of 2004 and into the future -- where players can do just about anything they want against other users.

Evidence of that growth can be found in the latest build of SmackDown vs. RAW 2006, as the online portion of the game has finally been opened up so that we can see those changes for ourselves. The good news is that a lot of our problems from last year have been fixed. Up to four players, for example, can now participate in almost every supported match type at once. And while the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber still can't be played online, a ton of other matches can be. Which matches would those be? Glad you asked! Here they are:

Single, Tag (Normal, Tornado, Elimination Normal and Elimination Tornado), Special Referee, Triple Threat, Fatal 4-Way, Handicap, Backstage Brawls, Battle Royal (Four Player only), Buried Alive, First Blood, Fulfill Your Fantasy, Hardcore, Hell in a Cell, Iron Man, Ladder, Last Man Standing, Steel Cage, Submission, Table, TLC, and Title Matches.

Yes we said title matches. For the first time ever, players will be able to defend user-created belts online against their opponents just like they always wanted to. And since ten created belts can be held on a single memory card at one time, an awful lot of title defenses can be participated in. Luckily, players won't be able to trick the system into letting them keep their titles if they lose either, as the server automatically rips the belt from your memory card the moment the challenge is accepted. This means that should a player lose and not want to part with his strap, that's too bad for him -- the server will transfer it to the winner's memory card.

Assuming they don't have a title to defend, players can also gamble a bit and take part in "Cash vs. Title" matches. THQ Creative Director Cory Ledesma states that, "this is a great way for people to be competitive online against champions regardless of their belt status, so that should be a big plus." Tag Team champs can defend their titles too, and you can engrave your new straps in the "Create-A-Belt" screen after you've won them just as you can when offline. Sadly, an option to create custom tournaments and headset support will not be included for this year's version, but at least there will be keyboard support in the lobby again. Cable and DSL users should also be happy to know that the game is broadband only -- so dial-up WWE fans looking to rumble online may want to consider getting an upgrade.

THQ will also be keeping server-side rankings for every player that enters their name in the database. Powered by GameSpy, the SmackDown server will keep total Wins, Loses, Win Percentage, Winning Streaks, Disqualifications, Title Match Victories, Title Defenses, Longest Title Reign, and Title Value / Prestige. These stats will ensure that players can find the top ranked gamers in their class whenever they hop online and also help them spot cheaters since the game won't be supporting any anti-cheat device software (yeah, that one's a bummer).

But that's not all (we've saved the best for last). The biggest, most impressive feature of the entire online mode will be the ability to trade created wrestlers online from one user to another. Gamers will no longer have to worry about typing up huge lists of numerical values in order to let other people make their favorite creations -- now it's as simple as logging on, going into a lobby, previewing someone's Created Wrestler, and trading. And to answer the inevitable question of "how many guys can you make," the final number is just under 30 per memory card (though you can't import any of them into season mode beyond the one player character).

Unfortunately, THQ's SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 servers weren't up and running in time for us to report on lag and connection issues, but even if it has the same latency as last year, it's a positive sign... especially with this year's robust feature set. We'll be back with more in the coming weeks.

On 24-Oct-2005 LPD said:

oooooooooo no no no no no

I know where this will end up, flaming like the battle between me and king did, which eventually lead to my banning.

I'm sorry but after the experiance that I've been though I'm done with my days of challenges and other things. So I say no to stay out of trouble!

And if you have a problem with that, I'm sure Aeshma and Sanzano will have somthing to say to you!

Wait, you battled King. Who won?

the tag battle was canceled by Aeshma due to flaming. and i'm glad aeshma did close it

i got 2 questions here:
1. can we choose the heel and face before we start season mode ? because we can do it in HCTP but not in SD VS RAW
2. who are the legends that can be used for the season mode ?

1. I think so
2. Not known yet. I Think Jimmy Hart, Mankind and I even think Bret Hart are avalible... not sure though

On 24-Oct-2005 LPD said:

the tag battle was canceled by Aeshma due to flaming. and i'm glad aeshma did close it

Yeah same here, Anyway the last thing LPD needs right now is to get banned mate so i would just leave it at that.

Man this is going to be a great game!

no its going to be the most coolest and greatest game ever in game history my friend

Hope you don't mind me posting here, but I read somewhere that as long as the Legend has a voice, it can be used in season mode. So i'm guessing most of the legends can be.

yeah i guess you can